On his two-day visit to Israel in October, New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio met face to face with the mayors of Israel’s two largest cities. He looked them both in the eye and bragged, “My Jewish population is bigger than yours.” In fact, he noted, New York has the biggest Jewish community in the world.

Oftentimes a funny story can make a penetrating point. Mark Sofer said that when he was Israel’s ambassador to India he attended a performance of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The program included Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8, commonly known as the Unfinished Symphony.

He noticed that in the first movement there were 20 violinists playing. “Only 10 would do,” he concluded. “If Schubert had taken seriously what I’m saying, he would have finished the symphony.”